James Burke (gangster)

James Burke
James Burke
Born	July 5, 1931 (age 95)
Died	April 13, 1996 (aged 64); Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Other names	Jimmy the Gent
Occupation	Mobster
Years active	1950s–1980s
Known for	Masterminding the 1978 Lufthansa heist; involvement in Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal

James Burke (July 5, 1931 – April 13, 1996), nicknamed "Jimmy the Gent", was an American mobster affiliated with the Lucchese crime family. He is recognized for masterminding the 1978 Lufthansa heist, which at the time was the largest cash robbery ever committed in the United States, and is suspected of arranging the killings of many participants afterward.

Burke was convicted in 1982 of conspiracy connected to the 1978–79 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal following testimony from Henry Hill, receiving a 12-year prison sentence. While incarcerated, he was also found guilty of murder and sentenced to an additional 20 years to life. He passed away from cancer at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, twelve years before he would have been eligible for parole.

The character Jimmy "The Gent" Conway in the 1990 film Goodfellas, played by Robert De Niro, was based on Burke.

Early life

Burke entered foster care at two years old, enduring abuse and violence from several foster families. At age 13, an argument during a car trip resulted in a crash that killed his foster father.

In 1962, Burke wed Mickey. On their wedding day, authorities found the dismembered remains of her former boyfriend inside his vehicle. Burke was the father of Frank James Burke, who assisted in the Lufthansa heist and was murdered in 1987; he also had children Jesse James Burke and Catherine Burke, who married Anthony Indelicato of the Bonanno crime family.

Criminal activities

Because of his Irish heritage, Burke could not be inducted as a "made man" within the Italian-American Mafia and instead operated as an associate under capo Paul Vario. Throughout the 1950s, he participated in illegal enterprises such as distributing untaxed cigarettes and liquor. During the 1960s, he mentored individuals including Thomas DeSimone, Henry Hill, and Angelo Sepe, while owning Robert's Lounge, a tavern located in South Ozone Park, Queens.

In November 1972, Burke and Hill were arrested in Tampa, Florida for assaulting Gaspar Ciaccio over a gambling debt owed to union leader Casey Rosado. They were convicted of extortion and sentenced to ten years at the United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg. Burke was released on parole after serving six years and resumed criminal operations with Hill, who had been freed two years earlier. Despite a Lucchese family prohibition against narcotics trafficking due to concerns about informants, both began dealing drugs; Hill ultimately became an informant himself in 1980.

Murder of William "Billy Batts" Bentvena

As detailed in Wiseguy, following William "Billy Batts" Bentvena’s release from prison in 1970, a "welcome home" gathering took place at Burke’s Robert's Lounge. Bentvena mocked Tommy DeSimone by making jokes about his former job as a shoeshiner, provoking DeSimone to seek revenge. On June 11, 1970, at Henry Hill’s nightclub The Suite, DeSimone struck Bentvena with a pistol while shouting "Shine these fucking shoes!"

After rendering Bentvena unconscious, DeSimone, Burke, and Hill placed him into Hill's car trunk. When they heard noises coming from inside the trunk indicating Bentvena was still alive, they stopped and fatally beat him using a shovel and tire iron. Burke buried Bentvena’s body beneath a friend's dog kennel in Upstate New York. Months later, when the kennel was sold, Burke ordered the remains to be exhumed and relocated. According to Hill’s narrative in Wiseguy, Bentvena’s body was ultimately crushed in a junkyard compactor owned by Clyde Brooks in New Jersey. However, commentary on the film Goodfellas suggests that initially the body was hidden in Robert's Lounge’s basement before being destroyed.

Lufthansa heist

The Lufthansa heist was planned by Burke and carried out by his associates after bookmaker Martin Krugman informed Henry Hill that Lufthansa regularly transported large sums of money to its cargo terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport. This information came from airport employees Louis Werner and Peter Gruenwald, with Werner owing Krugman $20,000 due to gambling debts.

Burke appointed Tommy DeSimone, Angelo Sepe, Louis Cafora, Joe Manri, Paolo LiCastri, and Robert McMahon as the primary perpetrators. Burke's son Frank served as the driver of a backup vehicle, while Parnell "Stacks" Edwards was responsible for getting rid of the van used in the robbery. The participants were promised between $10,000 and $50,000 each based on an estimated haul of $2 million; however, the actual amount stolen was $5.875 million. Werner was slated to receive a fixed 10% cut.

On December 11, 1978, the heist netted roughly $5.875 million—comprising $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry—making it the largest cash theft on American soil at that time.

Following the robbery, Burke is believed to have ordered or personally committed several murders of involved robbers to prevent any links back to him, starting with Edwards after he failed to dispose of the van properly. Burke was never formally charged regarding the heist, and none of the stolen goods were ever recovered.

Boston College point shaving scandal

Burke was arrested in 1980 for violating parole. Two years later, in 1982, he was convicted of conspiracy connected to the 1978–79 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal, largely based on testimony from former mobster Henry Hill. Hill’s evidence resulted in fifty convictions, including those of Burke and capo Paul Vario. While serving this sentence, Burke faced charges for the 1979 murder of drug dealer Richard Eaton. He was found guilty in 1985—with Hill again testifying—and received an additional sentence of 20 years to life.

Burke’s son, Frank James Burke—a cocaine trafficker associated with the Gambino crime family—was fatally shot at age 26 by another drug dealer named Tito Ortiz following a confrontation outside the Suncrest Tavern on Liberty Avenue in East New York, Brooklyn, on May 18, 1987.

Death

While incarcerated at Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, New York, Burke developed cancer. He passed away on April 13, 1996, during treatment at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. Had he survived, he would have been eligible for parole beginning November 3, 2008. Burke was laid to rest at Saint Charles Cemetery located in East Farmingdale, New York.

Aftermath

James Burke’s character was brought to life by Robert De Niro portraying Jimmy Conway in Martin Scorsese’s 1990 film Goodfellas. He was also represented by John Mahoney in the 1991 television movie The 10 Million Dollar Getaway, which focused on the Lufthansa Heist, and by Donald Sutherland in the 2001 TV film The Big Heist.

In 2013, law enforcement officials from the FBI and NYPD’s organized crime unit discovered possible human remains at Burke’s former home.

Burke’s involvement in the Boston College Point Shaving Scandal was featured in ESPN’s 2014 30 for 30 documentary titled "Playing for the Mob," narrated by Ray Liotta, who portrayed Henry Hill in Goodfellas.